Tips on helping your child with reading comprehension

Comprehension requires your child to think about what they’re reading as they read. It is one of those skills that makes reading enjoyable, fun and informative. It is a very important skills which has a significant effect on their lives. Yet for some children reading comprehension can be a bit of a struggle and may mean reading becomes an unenjoyable task.

Some things you can do at home to help them develop confidence and skills in reading comprehension are:

Talk about the front cover, title, Illustrator and illustrations before you begin reading.
– Discuss the plot including what happens at the beginning of the story, the complication and resolution.
– Identify any unfamiliar words and provide the meaning.
– Make connections with something similar they have done or read.
– Talk about how the story ends and if there is a lesson to be learned. – Discuss the characters and how they are described in the story; physical features as well as personality. Compare the characters in the book and ask what they think about their actions.
– Ask your child to summarise in their own words the main idea (you can do this throughout and/or at the end of the story).
– Draw pictures together about the main events in a story in order or their favourite part.

You may choose to wait until the end of the story to discuss these things, or talk while you are still reading the story. It is also worth re-reading your child’s favourite books, to enrich discussions and deepen their understanding.

Try these comprehension strategies at home, and please reach out if you need some more support in helping your child become competent in understanding what they are reading.